All Apologies
by SnoopyJinks
Summary: Fitz is put to the test when Olivia goes missing.
1. Cyrus Beene's Bad Day

**This is my first Scandal story and my first fanfic in aaaaaages. I hope you enjoy the journey. Huge thanks to my beta! You are the shiz. Oh and for legal purposes, I don't own anything all hail the Shonda! Enjoy!**

When Cyrus Beene was a child he'd dreamed of growing up to be many things. A fireman, an architect, a spy, but what intrigued him most of all was a job that involved power. He wanted a job with the kind of power that could change the world-presidential power. Alas, early on Cyrus realized he would never be King, but he could sure as hell make one and sit right next to Power. He could affect change, when he spoke his words would carry the weight of the President with them. carried the weight of the President with it. So, why was Cyrus Beene, king maker extraordinaire, fighting to keep his head from exploding?

Two simple words seemed to be the cause of all of his problems. Olivia Pope. Cyrus loved her in his own special way. He had taken her under his wing after she had efficiently cut down an obnoxious upperclassman in his Torts class at Georgetown. How could you not be enthralled with her? She was brilliant, beautiful, passionate-and missing. Olivia Pope had been missing for seventy-two hours according to her associate, Harrison Wright. At first, when Cyrus heard the news, he had dismissed it as a case of overprotective friends. Olivia probably just needed space. After all, it had been a rough month. But Harrison had remained diligent.

"Do you think I want to be on the phone with you right now?" Harrison hissed. "I know Liv. Something has happened to her. If there was any other way to find her I'd take it, believe me, but this just got serious. Liv is gone."

Cyrus sighed and proceeded to go through a group of unread emails. "Look, Harrison, is it?"

"I figured this was a mistake," Harrison cut Cyrus off. "But for some reason Olivia cares about you and I thought maybe, just maybe, you felt the same way about her and you'd give a damn. Guess I was wrong."

"Wait!" Cyrus shouted before Harrison could hang up, positive he would live to regret it." Tell me what you know."

Forty-five minutes later Lauren Smalls watched Cyrus pace quietly in front of her. In the year that she'd been working at the White House she'd seen him scream, yell, make people cry, and even smile twice, to be exact, but she had never seen him unsure of himself. As a matter of fact, he almost looked afraid.

Lauren cleared her throat.

"Mr. Beene, you can go in, he's only meeting with Ed and Larry."

"No, I'm fine waiting." Cyrus replied, and then, almost as an afterthought. "Lauren, can you-"

"Cyrus!"

He flinched at the voice calling him. "Mellie, I thought I felt the temperature drop 20 degrees."

The first lady breezed into the outer office, giving Cyrus a snide smile. "Why are you avoiding Fitz?"

"I'm not avoiding him," Cyrus snapped indignantly. "If you haven't noticed I'm standing right outside of his office."

Mellie rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're standing outside, instead of barreling in like the bull in a China shop that you are." She smiled as he stiffened. "What are you afraid of?"

Cyrus mulled over his options. He could lie, but Mellie could sense when something was off and it would only lead her to start digging. On the other hand, if he clued her in maybe she could run interference. His mind made up he grabbed her arm and led her out into the hallway. "Olivia Pope is apparently missing."

"What do you mean 'apparently missing'?" Mellie glanced around her to make sure no one could hear. "She either is or she isn't."

"Right now, it's looking like 'is.'" Cyrus explained. "One of her employees called me and said no one has heard from or seen her in three days. Her credit cards haven't been used in four and not one phone call or text message has been returned in that time either." Cyrus stopped, the severity of the circumstances seemingly hitting him at that moment. "So rejoice."

"What are you planning on doing with this information?" Mellie inquired, her curiosity piqued. There was finally something happening around her that didn't involve China patterns. Her husband had all but shut her out of his reelection plans and she was bored stiff.

"I'm going to tell the President." Cyrus replied.

"You are going to do no such thing, Cyrus Beene." Mellie snapped.

Cyrus sighed. "I know you hate her, it's justifiable. Your husband wants to run away with her, but-"

"You cannot tell Fitz that Olivia is missing." She cut him off. "He will cease to function and you know it."

"You do know that he's a grown man, President even?" Cyrus defended, head tilted to the side. He was becoming tired of Mellie's put downs of his boss.

Mellie gave a mirthless laugh. "He's a hopeless romantic who falls to pieces when Olivia Pope is involved, and I am not going to let the idea of his whore never being heard from again keep him from being the President." She reasoned, but Cyrus still looked unconvinced. "You know how he's been since she turned down the offer to run his campaign." Mellie waved her hand. "He's going through the motions, but he is clearly not invested." She went in for the kill. "Cyrus, if you tell him that Olivia is missing he will step down and go look for that woman himself. Are you ready to stop being a puppet master?" she goaded him. "I hear Harvard is looking for a new President."

Lauren popped her head out into the hallway. "The President is available now."

Cyrus nodded but kept his eyes on Mellie.

"Thank you Lauren." Cyrus responded, he then addressed the woman in front of him. "When you exited from the gates of Hell, were there plumes of smoke or just thunder and lightning."

"I am a patriot." She scoffed, one eyebrow cocked.

Cyrus started for the Oval office, passing the two men who were exiting. "Hi Larry, Ed."

Ed pointed to the man behind him. "That's Larry, I'm Ed."

"I don't care." Cyrus responded and entered the Oval, shutting the door behind him.

Fitzgerald Grant looked up from the papers on his desk "Cy, do you know if my remarks for the Rose Garden have been finalized? I think I should have some idea of what I'm going to say before I stroll out there in," He looked at his watch. "Forty-five minutes."

"Tina should have them shortly sir."

"Cy."

"Yes."

"Why are you standing by the door, come in." Fitz examined him with some concern. "Are you feeling okay?" The last thing he wanted was Cyrus having another heart attack.

The older man shrugged and gingerly walked over to the couch and sat down. "To be honest sir, I've had better days."

Fitz nodded. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Okay." Fitz stood up and walked over to where Cyrus now sat. "You came in to talk to me about..." He trailed off hoping Cyrus would finish the statement. Fitz was aware that his patience with those around him had been short lately, he just hadn't been in the mood to make anyone feel... at peace. Not when he was far from it.

Cyrus gave a heavy sigh. Just a minute ago he'd been dreading the news that he was going to deliver, now he wasn't sure if he was going to say anything at all. He looked at an expectant Fitz. "The remarks for the Rose Garden. I just wanted to let you know that they're just about ready."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"You know we have a whole communications department that could have told me that."

Cyrus nodded. "Yes sir, but this is your first time since the whole Jeannine Locke incident that you'll be in front of reporters. Just wanted to make sure that your head was in the game."

"I'm fine Cy." Fitz was clearly exasperated with his chief of staff. "I can handle a little speech."

"You're right," Cyrus acquesed. He knew better than to push and their relationship was still on soft ground. They were better than they had been a year ago, but Cyrus doubted he'd ever again have the younger man's complete trust. He stood to leave. "Sir," He stopped at the door, it was now or never. "Have you, uh, spoken to Olivia lately?" Cyrus saw the younger man's face darken for a flash only to be replaced by a mask of neutrality.

"No, Olivia and I have nothing to say to each other at the moment." There was an air of finality to his statement and Cyrus sighed before leaving, his decision made.

"Thank you, Mr. President." Cyrus closed the door behind him.

An hour later Cyrus was preparing for a meeting on the Hill when he heard the TV in the outer office. "Mary," He bellowed. "Could that possibly be louder?"

"I'm sorry sir, the President is taking questions now and I wanted to hear."

Cyrus walked over and leaned against the desk, his interest now piqued. The camera panned to the pool of reporters raising their hands and then to a confident Fitz who pointed to a woman in the front.

"Yes, Rachel."

"Mr. President, what is your response to the report that former White House Communications Director, Olivia Pope has gone missing?" Rachel asked with genuine interest.

The camera zoomed in on a stricken Fitz and Cyrus felt his heart stop. Cyrus Beene was having a very bad day.


	2. Best Laid Plans

**Thank you for reading my lil story and to those who wrote such terrific reviews. It's truly like jello shots for my soul ;-) Mad thanks to my beta as always. You make things, ya know, readable. And of course, I own nothing, just simply borrowing from Shonda.**

***This takes place before 3x08 and all that awesomeness.**

**Okay, hope you enjoy!**

Cyrus watched in horror as Fitz looked down as if to gather himself before he looked back up at the reporter and the rest of the press pool. All now sat in eager silence, awaiting his response.

When he finally found the words, his voice trembled ever so slightly.

"I haven't heard anything about Ms. Pope missing, but I'm sure she's just trying to recoup after the events of the past month and we should respect her privacy." He nodded, signaling the end of his statement. "Thank you." He waved and turned back towards the White House with purpose in his step.

Cyrus turned off the television. "Mary," He called quietly.

"Yes, Mr. Beene." His assistant replied, unsure of what he could possible need from her now. She hoped he wasn't having another heart attack.

"Cancel all of my appointments for the day," He ordered, almost as an afterthought. . While Cyrus was on the short list of the President's least favorite people he still knew that man like the back of his hand. Fitzgerald Grant was going to want answers and he would not stop until he had them.

The phone rang and Mary quickly answered it and after a simple "Okay," she hung up and looked up at Cyrus. "The President would like to see you in the Oval," she said.

"Of course he does." Cyrus straightened his back. "I could be expelling some kid from Harvard right now," He muttered to himself as he walked the long way around to the Oval, Cyrus went over his options. He could feign ignorance, pretend that this was the first time he'd heard about Olivia missing. On the other hand, he could come in and tell the truth. He could admit that he was aware that the President's mistress was gone but he kept quiet because he was worried about the leader of the free world's ability to lead. As Cyrus entered the outer office he heard Fitz yelling for Lauren in a tone that left no doubt as to the President's mood. Cyrus nodded to himself. Lie it was.

Lauren scrambled around her desk and opened the door to the Oval. "Mr. Beene is here, Sir." She said in a tone she hoped was professional. In reality she wanted no part of this.

"Send him in." He growled. His low voice and clipped manner left no doubt as to his mood.

The young woman nodded and gave a sympathetic look to Cyrus.

"He's ready for you now."

"Lauren, I can't tell you how completely unnecessary that statement was." Cyrus whispered and entered. "Mr. President," he greeted Fitz.

"Cyrus." Fitz stood in the middle of his office with narrow eyes, rigid posture, and a tense jaw. "Did you know?"

"Sir-" Cyrus started, but Fitz but him off.

"Before you speak, please know that I'm prepared to throw you out of my office, and this building if you lie to me." He growled and stopped to make sure Cyrus understood. "Now, did you know that Olivia was missing?"

Cyrus wiped his face with his hand and looked away.

"Yes," he sighed in exasperation, unable to go ahead with the lie.

"You son of a bitch." Fitz shook his head. After all the horrible things he knew Cyrus to be capable of, he couldn't help but wonder how Cyrus could keep this from him. He had a right to know. "She's missing and you didn't tell me?"

"Sir-" Cyrus tried to interrupt.

"Whatever you're about to say right now is going to do nothing but serve to cover your ass," Fitz had no desire to hear Cyrus' excuses and moved behind his desk to pick up the phone. "Lauren, I want the director of the FBI right now."

"Mr. President, wait." Desperate, Cyrus held out a hand.

Fitz gave Cyrus an incredulous look.

"It's obvious that you don't care about Liv's well-being, but I do." His voice wavered. They were wasting time and he needed to start looking for her.

"I didn't tell you because I can't have you involved in a missing persons scandal." Cyrus explained, still unable to make eye contact.

"Excuse me?" Fitz questioned Cyrus, one eyebrow raised. He hung up the phone. "What's going on?"

"Her guy, Harrison, called and told me that they haven't heard from her in a few days." Cyrus began to put pieces of the conversation in order for the President. "There's been no activity on her credit cards, no outgoing calls from her phone, no answered calls." He stopped, recalling the phone records Harrison had emailed an hour earlier. "Not even from you because you didn't call." It was now Fitz's turn to look away as realization crept over Cyrus' face. "You haven't called her in 3 days. Why is that?"

Fitz cancelled the request for the FBI director and sat down. "Olivia isn't missing."

"Come again?" Cyrus asked, sure he'd misunderstood the younger man.

"Liv isn't missing, she's taking some time away." Fitz explained, a hint of sadness laced his words. "She didn't want any outside distractions."

Cyrus gave a joyless laugh. "So you know where she is," The president nodded. "I can't even begin to explain to you how many years the Shakespearean tragedy that is your love life is shaving off of my life!"

"No one asked for your involvement!" Fitz countered, tired of Cyrus' theatrics.

"It's my job, Mr. President, to be involved," Cyrus spat. "You aren't the only person involved here. You aren't the only one who cares about her well-being. Her people are about to call in the police."

"Tell her people to stand down." Fitz said simply. "Liv is fine."

Cyrus shook his head no. There was an urgency to the conversation that he'd had with Harrison that made him think otherwise. "I think your spidey senses are off, Sir. While I'm not involved with her as intimately as you are, I've known her a lot longer." Cyrus began to voice his concern. "It's not like her to not tell anyone-"

"She told me!" Fitz boomed. "I promised her that I'd give her space and that's what I'm going to do." He looked at Cyrus with an intensity the Chief of Staff rarely saw anymore. "She's coming back and she's coming back to me. I'm not going to send in a SWAT team because her friends won't take my word for it!"

Before Cyrus could respond a quick knock interrupted him followed by Lauren poking her head inside the office. "I'm sorry Sir, Captain Ballard is here to see you." She looked at both men. "He says it's in regard to Ms. Pope."

Fitz groaned and nodded, tell her to let Jake in. His best friend, turned back stabber was the last person he wanted to see.

Jake walked in quickly and slowed when he saw that they were not alone. He nodded to Cyrus who did not return the gesture and focused back on Fitz. "Mr. President."

"What do you want Jake?" Fitz asked, not in the mood for false pleasantries. It would be a clear waste of time with both men firmly aware of the state of their relationship. "I'm busy." He gestured at the room they stood in, the Oval office being the center of power to an important nation.

"I hope you're busy looking for Olivia. We hadn't heard from you so I thought I'd show my face, see what you're doing about it."

Fitz smirked.

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" _Small victories_, he thought. At least Olivia didn't want Jake's presence either while she sorted things out. "Olivia needed some time away and we're going to respect her wishes. She's not missing."

"I think you're wrong." Jake said simply. "Her luggage is still here."

"And you would know that how?" Cyrus asked, genuinely curious. He wasn't quite sure what Jake's relationship was with Olivia, but he could tell by the President's body language that it couldn't be good.

"She gave me a key." Jake smiled, first at Cyrus then directed it to Fitz. He was well aware of the pain he caused his friend with that piece of information. The knowledge that Olivia still trusted Jake to walk into her home and her bedroom would tear him up inside. "I checked her apartment and nothing was out-of-place," He continued. "Everything was where it should be," He slipped his hands inside his pockets. "Including her suitcase."

"Maybe she took her carry on." Fitz countered.

"Seriously?" Jake shook his head in frustration and turned to Cyrus for help.

Cyrus, however would be of no help refusing to show anything but support for Fitz.

"The President is privy to information that you are not." He replied as if this had been a well crafted statement.

Jake moved to stand directly in front of Cyrus as if to challenge him.

"If he told you water wasn't wet, you'd believe him."

"Slept with any other women you've been spying on lately?" Cyrus asked calmly.

"That's enough," Fitz interjected. The topic of Jake's dalliance with Olivia was still a sore topic with him. "Olivia is fine, we're done here."

"Why are you so dismissive of this?" Jake hissed with frustration.

Fitz walked around his desk and placed a hand on Cyrus' shoulder, grateful for his support. Cyrus stepped back allowing Fitz to take his place, but kept his eyes on Jake. "I spoke to Olivia before she left, I was with her actually. She needed some time away from everyone."

"Everyone or just you?" Jake challenged.

"I think you should leave," Fitz answered, his voice deepened as he involuntarily began to clench his fist. "Now."

Jake looked from the President to Cyrus and realized he was in a no win situation. "Fine." He practically spit and left without another word.

Cyrus let out a breath he didn't know he was holding once Jake closed the door behind him.

"I thought you were going to hit him." He half-heartedly joked. Truth be told he'd been prepared to call in the Secret Service.

Fitz smiled to himself.

"I really wanted to." He replied and turned to look at Cyrus. "Thank you, for supporting me in front of Jake."

"Of course." Cyrus responded, inwardly surprised at the President's kind words. It had been so long. While he didn't feel as confident in Olivia's whereabouts as Fitz did he knew the man would sooner die than let anything happen to her. If Fitz believed her to be safe, then he would let the issue go. "If there's nothing else sir..." Cyrus trailed off, ready to leave.

"We're done here, Cy." Fitz walked over to the window overlooking the south lawn. The sun had begun to set and now cast shadows across the room. "Oh and Cy, the next time you withhold something from me involving Liv, you and I will be done for good."

Cyrus looked down, guilty for his earlier decisions.

"Yes Sir."

Just as Cyrus opened the door to leave the phone on Fitz's desk began to ring. Fitz answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" He was curious as to who was calling without being announced by Lauren first.

Cyrus hung back, waiting to see if he'd be needed for assistance.

When Fitz got no response he tried again.

"Hello?"

"Mr. President," a deep and electronically distorted voice replied.

"Who is this?" Fitz asked with more than a hint of confusion.

Cyrus closed the door and walked back to the desk.

"I saw your press conference, I believe you gave inaccurate information," the voice said.

Fitz felt his legs go weak as he sunk into his chair.

"Who is this," He asked again with a force.

"I'm the person who kidnapped Olivia Pope."

**To be continued...**


	3. Maple Syrup Vermont

**Thank you, thank you, thank you for you kind reviews, they are greatly appreciated and never taken for granted. I know it's been a minute in between chapters, my bad. There's a lil Liv/Fitz interaction and I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always to my beta, thanks yo! **

**Let's get it!**

"I'm the person who kidnapped Olivia Pope," the distorted voice answered. The tone was matter of fact and unfeeling, leaving Fitz cold.

"Excuse me?" Fitz asked, his voice deep over the new revelation, and tightened his grip on the receiver.

"I think you heard me," the voice replied. "It would be in your best interest to have all of the facts before you speak."

Fitz looked up at Cyrus and motioned for him to pick up the other line. Cyrus did so very carefully and listened intently. The look on Fitz's face gave him a bad feeling.

"I don't follow," Fitz stalled until Cyrus was ready. "What did I get wrong?"

"You told the press that Ms. Pope was not missing. That couldn't be farther from the truth." The voice paused. "Let's see, I believe I've had your friend for three days," the voice laughed.

"Why in the hell should I believe a word you're saying?" Fitz countered with more than a hint of anger. How dare this man try and play games with him. Olivia was fine, he thought to himself and looked over to Cyrus for reassurance. He found none as Cyrus was now a stark pale against the warm orange hue the setting sun painted in the room. "I don't have time for these games." His declaration now lacked some of it's earlier confidence.

The voice laughed. "In the time that I've had her, I've had a chance to take in her... assets. The mole right below her breasts... perfect beauty mark, don't you think?"

"You son of a bitch," Fitz erupted. "Don't you touch her!"

Cyrus dropped the phone and practically jumped across the desk in an attempt to get to Fitz before the younger man crushed the phone. Cyrus pulled the phone away from Fitz's ear and tried to get him to focus.

"Sir, listen-" Cyrus began.

"He has her!" Fitz interrupted with a hiss. The love of his life was in the arms of a mad man. How could he not have known that she'd been taken?

"You have to stay calm, Mr. President." Cyrus explained with an emphasis on Fitz's title. "We have to find out what and who we're dealing with."

Fitz swallowed hard, nodded, and took a moment to compose himself before bringing the receiver back to his ear. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Oh, you believe me now?" the voice replied. "Good. I haven't decided what I wanted yet but when I do, you'll be the first to know."

"So what, this is just some sort of sick game to you? Something to make me suffer?" Fitz demanded.

"Yes." The voice answered simply.

Fitz jerked his head back in surprise and horror. He was truly at a loss. How could he fight someone who wanted nothing more than to cause him pain? Fitz bounced on his toes, scrambling for something, anything to get his footing back.

"I want to speak to her," Fitz demanded, but could not hide the trembling in his voice.

"No," came the simple reply.

"If I don't speak to her, then I'm ending this game that you think you're going to play with me," Fitz growled. He would not just roll over without a fight and he hated being told no.

Cyrus leaned forward in an attempt to hear the kidnapper's response.

"I'll be in touch." The electronic voice said and hung up.

"Wait!" Fitz shouted into the phone but received no response. He looked at Cyrus who could do nothing but look down. "He has Liv."

Cyrus nodded. "He does, yes, sir."

There was a sadness in his voice that Fitz could not recall ever hearing. Fitz hung up the phone and pressed his palms against the desk in an attempt to center himself. He felt his face become red with anger. It was easy to be angry at the man who kidnapped Olivia, but if he was being honest, Fitz was angry with himself.

"Damn it!" Fitz shouted and threw everything off of desk with one sweep, and Cyrus stepped back in shock. "I never should have let her go away. I should have known something was wrong."

"You're not clairvoyant," Cyrus reasoned and side stepped his way around to the other side of the desk and to safety. "You had no way of knowing this would happen."

"No?" Fitz asked. "Her people knew something was wrong. Hell, even Jake knew that she was in trouble, smug bastard." Fitz ran his right hand through his hair and then picked up the phone. "I'm going to get Thompson in here."

Cyrus put covered Fitz's hand with his own and forced Fitz to hang up the phone. He knew that he'd have to be the rational one in the situation, as it was clear that Fitz was gearing up to call in the FBI, National Guard, and possibly any vigilante who was up for a good fight.

"We still don't know what this guy wants, Sir."

"Yes we do Cy," He shook his head in disbelief, "He wants me to suffer and he's using Olivia to make it happen."

Cyrus held up a hand and prepared to make his case.

"We have no proof that he has Olivia, just his word," Cyrus began to pace the room, "You did good well by asking to speak to her. It puts the ball in his court and we don't make a move until we hear back from him."

"So now what, we just wait?" Fitz asked not trying to hide his frustration.

Cyrus stopped in front of the bust of Kennedy and examined it as if it held the answers to the universe. He replayed their earlier conversation for anything he may have missed and when he found it, he spun around to address the President.

"You said that you knew where Olivia was," he said, but caught himself. "Where you thought she was. Where?"

Fitz released a heavy sigh before looking his Chief of Staff in the eye. "She was headed to Vermont."

"Vermont? Maple syrup Vermont?" Cyrus asked and Fitz nodded. "Why? What's in Vermont?"

"I'd rather not say." Fitz turned away from Cyrus, his jaw clenched.

"You'd rather not say?" Cyrus repeated with no attempt at masking his frustration. He turned away from Fitz seemingly ready to leave, but turned back around and opened his mouth to speak. A moment later he closed his mouth and raised his hand as if to stop Fitz from speaking. "Did I hear you correctly, Mr. President? You'd rather not say what's in Vermont?"

Fitz waved Cyrus away. He had enough to deal with and Cyrus' righteous indignation was the last thing he needed. No, Fitz decided, he wouldn't tell Cyrus about the house, about his future with Olivia. Their dream would remain theirs for as long as possible.

"I need a moment Cy." It was a statement that left no room for argument, although Cyrus considered it.

"Fine," Cyrus complied. "I'm going to ask Lauren if there was an ID on the phone number that was used. Maybe this whole thing is just a prank and we're dealing with an idiot."

Fitz waited until Cyrus closed the door behind him to sit down. The severity of the situation, the possibility that Olivia was actually in danger took his breath away. He should have felt it, after all, they were connected. They were meant to be.

_Four days ago_

_"I need space...time." Olivia revealed to Fitz as if she'd just realized it herself. "I need to figure out what to do next."_

_The two stood in the oval office a few feet apart from each other physically, but to Fitz, it felt like they were miles apart. He took a step closer towards Olivia only to have her back up as well._

_"There's nothing to figure out," he countered, clearly frustrated. "I love you."_

_"Your love is ruining me!" Olivia shouted, her eyes glassy with sadness._

_Fitz felt like the wind had knocked out of him. She couldn't possibly mean that, could she? She was the unquestionable love of his life. "You don't mean that."_

_"I do," she countered shot back__. __"I do mean that. You murdered my mother and over 200 innocent people! Simply because you were following orders." Olivia turned away from and leaned her head against the mantle. She needed support, her heart was breaking._

_Fitz closed the gap between them and gripped her arms firmly. He was fearful that she would reject him again, but when she didn't move he leaned in and whispered. "I wish I could tell you everything, but I can't, you know that. I will do anything in my power to fix this, to fix us." He turned her around to face him. "Livvie, tell me how to fix this."_

_Olivia looked at him with a humorless mirthless smile. "Can you bring someone back from the dead?"_

_"Olivia-" Fitz began._

_Olivia held up her left hand to cut him off. "Just give me some time. I need to go away for a few days and clear my head. Can you please just give me that?"_

_She looked so small to Fitz and he wanted to do nothing more than to hold her and take away her pain. How cruel was fate that he was the cause._

_"Fine," he acquiesced. "But you're going with some of my guys."_

_"No, the last thing I need are reminders of you and your power." Olivia argued._

_"I want you safe." Fitz explained._

_Olivia ducked past Fitz and took a deep breath. Funny, she hadn't realized she needed air, somehow she would forget to breathe when he was so close to her. There, she smiled to herself, proof that she had to get away. She couldn't so much as breathe around him let alone think rationally._

_"Fitz, as much as your want to protect and control everything around me you can't. I'm not yours."_

_"Whose fault is that," he spit spat. Fitz turned to address her again. "You keep walking away from me. You love me, I love you, we can be together."_

_"I'm not having this argument with you again, we cannot be together."_

_"Enough!" Fitz hissed and walked past Olivia. "Why did you bother coming?"_

_Olivia frowned at the tone he now took. He was angry and frustrated and his clear blue eyes now shown shone with a stormy gray hue. "I just thought you should know my plans," Olivia explained. "I wanted you to know."_

_"Well now I know," he snapped, and__sat down at his desk and started to look over the papers that were piled up in front of him. "You can leave."_

_"Fitz," she called, but received no response. Olivia threw her hands up in frustration__she'd made a mistake and she really had no good answer for why she had come. Olivia was aware that she could have simply told him what her plans were over the phone. No, she'd come because she wanted to see him. Despite everything that had happened she needed to be in the same room._

_"I'm going to Vermont," Olivia said quietly. Fitz stopped writing and she took that as her cue to continue. "I'm not going to accept any protection from you, because I don't need it, but I'll tell you where I'll be."_

_"Vermont?" He smiled, put down the pen, and stood up, happy for the information that she was willing to give him. "Can I come see you in a few days?" Fitz saw the hesitation on Olivia's face and continued. "If the day comes and you don't want me there I won't come. I just want to show you something that's up there. It's important that you see it."_

_Olivia gave Fitz a short nod. "Okay." She gathered her coat and pair of gloves. "In five days, you can come see me. I'll give Lauren the address."_

_"I love you." Fitz declared._

_"I know." Olivia replied._

_And then she was gone._

**To be continued...**


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